Do You Know Your BBB Score?

If you don’t… you and your shoppers will very soon.



You remember the BBB (Better Business Bureau) don’t you?  Yea, it’s the auto dealers nemesis from days of old and it has been totally off Google’s radar…forever.

Those days are about to end.  How do I know? Let’s take a walk, let me show you around and you tell me what you think after.

While looking into FaceBook best practices in the DealerRefresh forums, I came on to Terrance Gordon's post of John Eagle European's excellent FB work. I Google'd John Eagle European and GAK! to too my surprise, there it is! BBB at POSITION 7, just below the fold!

Next was to Google: John Eagle European reviews. GULP!  Position #1!

WOW!  I scurried around to other dealer SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) that I was familiar with and found little evidence similar to John Eagle's SERPs.  What do we have here?  Is this a new day for the BBB, or, is this just noise?

I say it’s a new day for the Better Business Bureau.

Few automobile dealers know Google like we DealerRefresh’ers know Google.  Google is all about improving the user's search experience and we all know Google is ATTACKING local search results with all of the fire power Melissa Mayer can bring.  We know Google is all about authority and the BBB has mountains of off-line authority, measured in decades.

The BBB has what Google wants.  A Brand known everywhere, a new website makeover,  a decades old dispute resolution system, a simple grading system,  AND it's reporting transparency. All the above makes the BBB website the mother of all review sites.  For the Google's search quality team, it's got HOMERUN written all over it!  Oh, did I mention it’s a non-profit organization?  IMO, its indisputable that the BBB is one of those sites that Google wants in every search for a business name.

If this happens, it begins a new cycle of power for the Better Business Bureau.  Shoppers see and read the BBB reports. Then, as the shopper becomes a buyer, should the new buyer have issues, they will turn to the BBB for resolution.

Most dealerships with poor scores treat the Better Business Bureau as the crazy uncle in the closet, they all know he’s there, but no one talks about him. Well.. that crazy uncle just inherited a million dollars and he wants OUT. I've been watching this set-up for months. Here it comes!

Are you ready?

Remember, you heard it on DealerRefresh first!

Most leaders of dealerships are firefighters, not visionaries, and certainly not risk takers (read: entrepreneurial). Like lemmings, these leaders follow what others do, blaming the handcuffs they wear on circumstances that surround them.

It's this sea of morons (aka leaders) that mindlessly "follow the pack" into Social Media because everyone else is doing it. To these players, their entire Social Media business model lives on 5 minutes of research and 34 seconds of planning. They don't get it and they wont get it...ever.

Oh...and just wait until the evil twin of Social Media comes out and WACKS them. Dealer Reviews has the potential to be the single greatest threat to Dealer Leadership since Al Gore invented the internet. By this time next year, I see droves of GMs and GSM's in the fetal position, sucking their thumbs wondering how this all got away from them.

I am well known for my dis-taste of Social Media. It's not Social Media that irritates me, it's...us. Every where I look I see lackadaisical leadership that is so unprepared for the "Bright Light of Social Media".

I swear the Franchise System (Manufacturer to Dealer) has sucked the balls out of decision makers. It has rewarded GM's that defend it's turf, not those that conquer new ground. Boys..I hate to tell you...new ground is coming your way!

Is your dealership READY?

Dallas, TX and Centreville, VA, January 19, 2011 –eCarList, one of the fastest-growing automotive software companies, has teamed with Carfax to provide free access to eCarList’s innovative TrueTarget Mobile app.  TrueTarget Mobile makes it easy for automotive dealers to appraise, price and merchandise vehicles directly from their mobile phone. Dealers better understand the market when acquiring vehicles and price their inventory to sell faster and more effectively.

TrueTarget Mobile, which was recently named the most innovative dealership solution of the year, includes integration of retail pricing and vehicle history information from Carfax.  Access to the mobile app was previously limited to dealers who subscribe to eCarList’s inventory management solution, but is now available to all automotive dealers and provided at no additional cost to dealers who have an active Carfax account.

“Dealers want anytime access to Carfax Vehicle History Reports,” said Dick Raines, president of Carfax. “Having this information at your fingertips during acquisition and retail helps our customers maximize profitability. TrueTarget Mobile is a convenient tool that broadens access to Carfax information and makes a dealer’s job simpler.”

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With TrueTarget Mobile, dealerships can accurately appraise and price vehicles utilizing Carfax Vehicle History Reports, current pricing data from online vehicle marketing websites, and optionally access integrated pricing data from wholesale books. The app allows dealers to filter, organize and view the data geographically and flag pricing from competitive dealerships for the most relevant pricing assessment of each vehicle.

“Carfax Vehicle History Reports are critical to an accurate vehicle appraisal and without this trusted information, dealers cannot effectively appraise, price and merchandise vehicles. We are proud that TrueTarget Mobile is not only being offered for free to Carfax subscribers, but that it is also the first and only mobile product to provide users with free access to the most valuable data from leading retail marketing websites,” said Len Critcher, CEO of eCarList.  “Our mission is to make it easy and cost-effective for dealerships to fully own and control the vehicle merchandising process. We are pleased that we can now provide this tool at no cost to Carfax-subscribing dealers.”



About eCarList

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, eCarList (www.ecarlist.com) provides a full suite of inventory management and online marketing tools for the retail automotive industry enabling dealers to appraise, price and merchandise vehicle inventory online in real-time. Services include inventory management, inventory distribution, vehicle appraisal and pricing tools, mobile software, dealership health reporting, dealer CRM, custom web design, and digital marketing solutions via a fully integrated software as a service platform. eCarList improves dealership productivity, inventory turn, sales, and profits for its clients by improving and simplifying the way in which inventory is managed, distributed, and viewed by consumers.  One of the fastest-growing companies in the industry, eCarList has award-winning products for each category in which it competes.  eCarList’s revolutionary TrueTarget Mobile was recently named the Most Innovative Dealership Solution of 2010. For more information about eCarList, visit www.ecarlist.com.

About Carfax (www.carfax.com)

Millions of used car buyers and sellers each year rely on Carfax, the most trusted provider of vehicle history information. Using the unique 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN) found on vehicle dashboards and title documents, Carfax instantly generates a detailed Vehicle History Report on any used car or light truck. Carfax Vehicle History Reports™ provide valuable information that helps used car buyers and sellers make better decisions. For more information or to become a Carfax-subscribing dealer, visit www.carfaxonline.com.